I was walking to the office this morning and passed a garage sale. I spied a number of Sterling Vineyard wire wineracks that the seller had acquired when he purchased a restaurant. They're really nice: about a foot wide and 4-1/2 ft tall, with spaces for 33 bottles of wine, plus 3 on top that rest at an angle. Brackets on the side allow bolting together. Altogether, nice and sturdy and attractive. I got two for $15. I'm thinking of getting two more; I need a bit more space.

Anyway, I was chatting with the seller. He said he also acquired 800 bottles of wine. Mama mia! When I asked him what restaurant he bought, all the pieces fell into place. He had purchased one of my favorite continental restaurants in Albuquerque and replaced it with a Mexican restaurant. When it was Baciu's, there was, indeed, 800 bottles of wine all over the dining area, displayed in those very racks.

The coincidence was I've been trying to contact the owners of Baciu's without any luck. I first met them when I wrote a restaurant review and became quite friendly with them. They'd occasionally call and tell us to get over there for a (memorable) meal (and wine) on the house. I first found out they had disappeared when our writing organization tried to book some banquet space and they had closed up shop.

But the Mexican restaurant owners supposedly have contact information for the Baciu's. It's curious how the universe goes in a circle sometimes.